LIFE Magazine's Classic Photos
MacArthur Comes Ashore, 1945
By Carl Mydans
General Douglas MacArthur and photographer Carl Mydans both experienced jarring twists of fate in World War II's Pacific Theater before arriving at this moment. MacArthur was driven from the Philippines by the Japanese in March 1942, declaring emphatically, "I shall return." Two months earlier, Mydans, covering the war for LIFE, had been taken prisoner in Manila; he was held for nearly two years before being repatriated in a POW exchange. MacArthur made good on his pledge in October of '44. This photo, taken during American landings at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, is invariably used to commemorate "the return." However, it was actually taken three months later, at a different beach than that of the original landing. The general apparently preferred his commanding mien in this version.